Mike Brown buys home in Anaheim Hills

Lauren Beale, Los Angeles Times

Despite the NBA player lockout, new Lakers head coach Mike Brown is busy setting up shop at the office and at home. Brown and his wife, Carolyn, closed a $3-million deal last month for a house in a gated Anaheim Hills community.

That will be quite a drive to Staples Center and even a longer one to the Lakers offices and training center in El Segundo. Perhaps Kobe Bryant can swing by to pick him up on his way from Newport Coast.

Although Brown declined to comment on the purchase, a Laker spokesman said the coach wanted his children to attend a high school near his new house, so he was willing to make the long commute.

The Browns' newly remodeled Mediterranean-style house, built in 1990, features custom-painted murals, a paneled office and a temperature-controlled wine room in 9,500 square feet. The family room has a bar, a projection screen and a built-in aquarium. There are six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. The nearly three-quarters of an acre property includes a saltwater pool with waterslide and a swim-up table, a lighted tennis court and a four-car garage.

Brown, 41, coached the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010 and was named NBA coach of the year in 2009.

The property had been on and off the market since 2008, when it was listed at $4.5 million.

Several other Lakers-related real estate deals took place this year in Manhattan Beach: Forward Lamar Odom sold for $2.1 million, former Lakers Assistant General Manager Ronnie Lester sold for $1.65 million and former Laker Chris Mihm sold for $2.07 million. Meanwhile, a sale is pending on former Laker Kwame Brown's house in Playa del Rey.

Carole Geronsin of Prudential California Realty, Anaheim Hills, was the listing agent for the house Mike and Carolyn Brown bought. Lorraine Reyes of Re/Max Premier Realty, Irvine, represented the Browns.